Car-fender



F. B. SOAIFE.

GAR FENDER.

(No Model.)

' Patented Dec. 10, 1895.

UNITE STATES PATENT QFFIC FRANK B. SOAIFE, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 551,197, dated December10, 1895. Application filed September l, 1895 Serial No. 561,462. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK B. SCAIFE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in .the county of Philadelphia, State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in car-fenders, andhas for its object to provide such a device that will grasp and hold aperson with whom it comes in con tact, without thrusting them upon thetrack, and safely carry them in an upright position until the car can bestopped; and with this end in view my invention consists in the detailsof construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, andthen specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describeits construction and operation in detail, referring by number to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and inwhich Figure 1 is a plan view of one end of a car having my improveddevice attached thereto; Fig. 2, a section of the same, showing themethod by which the members of the pick-up device are secured to theirframe; Fig. 3, a front elevation of the device and the end of a car, andFig. at an enlarged detail of one of the blocks pivoted within thecross-bar.

Similar numbers denote like parts in the several views of the drawings.

1 represents a cross-bar, secured by means of brackets 2 to the frontend of the car, and 3 are blocks pivoted within the slot 4 and extendinglengthwise of this bar, so as to have a rocking movement.

5 are arms which are adapted to slide in the holes 6 in the blocks 3,and may be held distended to the position shown in the drawings bysuitable springs. To the outer ends of these arms are secured uprightfingers 7 ,which extend within close proximity to the road-bed and areperfectly covered with some soft material, such as rubber. These fingersare connected together by chains 8, which normally hang in loops, asshown in Fig. 3, and for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

9 are a number of toes secured to the arms 5, and 10 are dogs pivoted tothe cross-bar in the field of travel of the toes 9 when they movebackward with their respective arms, and these toes and dogs are soarranged as to engage each other upon the hackward movement of theformer, whereby the arms will be retained in this retracted position.Thus it will be seen that should a car carrying my improved fender comein contact with a person, such person would not be thrown upon the trackand passed over by the car, but would be wedged between two of thefingers, the one with which said person came directly in contact passingbackward against the resiliency of'its spring, as is shown in Fig. 1,and this movement would draw taut the chains connecting these fingerswith the two adjoining fingers, and whenthis movement had been carriedto such an extent as to pull with sufficient force upon these adjoiningfingers they would close in upon the person, thus securely holding suchperson in an upright position until the car could be stopped and theperson released. lVhen one of the fingers is thrust backward, as justdescribed, against the resiliency of its spring, the toe carried by the.

arm of such finger will be engaged by the dog 10, and held in itsretracted position, so that a person struck will not be thrust forwardafter having once been caught. The sidewise movement of the two adjacentfingers is permitted by the swinging of their blocks 3 upon theirpivots, as above described, and this sidewise movement may be limited bysuitable stops, so that the fingers will not be permitted to swing pastcertain limits.

In fenders as now constructed a great disadvantage is met with in that aperson must first be thrown down before they can be picked up, and, asis usual, this first effect upon a person of the fender produces themost serious results, and further, should the person not fall directlyupon the fender when struck thereby, but fall upon the track in such aposition that the fender should pass over him, the liability of injuryby the car would be in creased over a car using no fender at all, as theperson would be pinioned down and unable to move; but by the use of myimprovement such results cannot take place, as the first effect of thefender is to grasp and hold the person in the position in which they arestruck, and the only injury that could possibly come to such personwould be that incurred by the dragging of their feet upon the road-bed,which would of necessity be very slight.

I am aware that slight modifications might be made in the exactconstruction here shown, but I do not wish to be limited to thesedetails of construction, as the gist of my invention rests in the broadidea of grasping a person without disturbing the normally uprightposition.

Having thus described my invention, what fixed my signature in thepresence of two sub- I claim as new and useful isfingers are caused toclose forward, substan tially as shown and described.

2. In a device of the character described, the cross bar 1, secured toone end of the car, blocks 3, pivoted within a suitable slot in saidcross bar, arms 5, adapted to slide within said blocks, fingers 7,secured to the outer ends of said arms, chains 8, for connecting saidfingers, toes 9, and dogs 10, to engage said toes forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afscribing witnesses.

FRANK B. SOAIFE.

\Vitnesses:

S. S. WILLIAMsoN, SAMUEL L. TAYLOR.

